Post by Peace-=Of-God=- on Jul 21, 2009 6:37:32 GMT -5
The following is a brief excerpt from yet another in a near-endless 
string of books that I've read recently (I have 1½ hour of forced break time at work every night, so I get a lot of reading done 
). This novel was called The Assignment, written by Mark Andrew Olson and published by Bethany House Publishers in 2004. I can't really tell very much about the plot without giving away too much of its secrets , so I'll just get right to the heart of the quote (from the end of chapter 16, pages 143-144 in the paperback). I pray that it speaks to your hearts (and steps on your toes! 
) as much as it did to mine.
Most people, religious or not, live in a lifelong haze of unresolved belief. We believe, though much of the time not completely. Never quite a hundred percent. We can't -- we don't have the final proof. Which is why faith is required. Yet most of us don't resent the need for faith near as much as we say we do. Privately we cherish it for allowing us to hang back and reserve our ultimate commitment.
And even the strongest of believers can grow quite comfortable with that last ten percent area of doubt. That vague fog. We grow accustomed to being ninety percent and letting that final ten percent float around unchallenged in our minds. It's what prevents us from having to respond radically to the reality of God. We end up, whether we know it our not, clinging desperately to our ambivalence. Without it, we might all find ourselves behaving recklessly, doing selfless acts like becoming missionaries or martyrs or something. So we cherish that ten percent of doubt. We come to rely on it.
string of books that I've read recently (I have 1½ hour of forced break time at work every night, so I get a lot of reading done 
). This novel was called The Assignment, written by Mark Andrew Olson and published by Bethany House Publishers in 2004. I can't really tell very much about the plot without giving away too much of its secrets , so I'll just get right to the heart of the quote (from the end of chapter 16, pages 143-144 in the paperback). I pray that it speaks to your hearts (and steps on your toes! 
) as much as it did to mine.Most people, religious or not, live in a lifelong haze of unresolved belief. We believe, though much of the time not completely. Never quite a hundred percent. We can't -- we don't have the final proof. Which is why faith is required. Yet most of us don't resent the need for faith near as much as we say we do. Privately we cherish it for allowing us to hang back and reserve our ultimate commitment.
And even the strongest of believers can grow quite comfortable with that last ten percent area of doubt. That vague fog. We grow accustomed to being ninety percent and letting that final ten percent float around unchallenged in our minds. It's what prevents us from having to respond radically to the reality of God. We end up, whether we know it our not, clinging desperately to our ambivalence. Without it, we might all find ourselves behaving recklessly, doing selfless acts like becoming missionaries or martyrs or something. So we cherish that ten percent of doubt. We come to rely on it.
No need to worry about it.